The Mental Game of Sports Rehab

Being an athlete most of my life, I have had to deal with
countless injuries.Some injuries
were more acute and didn't require more than some rest but I've also had
injuries that required an extended period of rest and also a great deal of
rehab.Chances are, if you partake
in any sort of physical activities, you have had to deal with some sort of
sports injury.As an athlete
myself, I've used physical activities and sports to not only stay in shape but
to also help mitigate the daily stresses in life.When I was sidelined for a longer period of time, I found
that I had trouble dealing with not being able to be active.Here are some techniques that I found
useful during this period.

Things You Will Need

Focus on a different muscle group.If you have a lower body injury, then take the focus off of
your lower body and turn that focus somewhere else.Take this period as a time to strengthen your upper body
(chest, biceps, triceps, deltoids) or to strengthen your core (lower back,
abs).

Look into other types of physical activities that will help
you stay active without further harming your injury.Often, I found that swimming or exercises in a pool, which
help to reduce impact but also, provide an effective workout.Also, pull-ups can be done when there
are leg injuries and are very effective in strengthening the upper body.

Take this time to also strengthen and sharpen the mental
aspects of your game by watching video of replays and reading up on strategy.There are many ways to improve your
game.One of those ways is to
understand the game better conceptually.

Pick up a new non-sport related activity.One of my neglected hobbies when I was
heavily training for a sport was music.When I was sidelined, I picked up playing guitar again and found that it
helped to take my mind off not being able to practice sports.

Spend more time with
optimistic friends.One of the
things that you don't want to do when trying to overcome this period is to be
inactive and dwell on the fact that you are sidelined.Take this time to make spend time with
your friends and to stay optimistic.

For athletes, this can be a very difficult game and just
like in all aspects of sports, this aspect of the sport rehab period also
requires practice.Take this time
to strengthen your mental game.